In late 2025 the U.S. Department of the Interior released a 5-year lease plan that would open the waters of Alaska, California, and the Gulf of Mexico to new oil and gas drilling. After the first public comment period, the Surfrider Foundation organized the Sign the Surfboard tour to demonstrate coastal business opposition to offshore oil drilling.
From March 3-5, 2026 recreation and restaurant businesses in San Mateo County took time to sign a surfboard representing their shared opposition to offshore drilling from the coastal food, recreation and tourism industries. On April 29-30, 2026, coastal industry leaders and Surfrider in Washington, D.C., presented the surfboards to the Department of the Interior, the White House, and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to urge federal leaders to protect all U.S. coasts in the 5-year offshore drilling plan.
Read the April 15, 2026 article from Coastside News about the offshore oil drilling topic and how the Surfrider San Mateo County chapter partnered with local businesses to express our point of view on the issue.
